Peace
by PurpleYin
Summary: ShepWeir written for lantisficathon had to feature bonding, the balcony and an apple. Set after Seige part 3 but only spoiler for parts 1 and 2. Elizabeth is lost and someone helps her find herself.


Response to lantisficathon assignment. Shep/Weir bonding, with the balcony and an apple.   
Spoilers: Seige part 1 definitely, seige part vaguely and set after seige part 3 but no spoielrs for it.

A/N: Not betaread. This was an unexpected challenge from the ficathon, for a pairing I don't do - so it's pretty much my first, last and only Sheppard/Weir fic. Love to know how I did on it, hopefully I managed fine.

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**Peace**

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She exhaled with the ocean breeze, as if the winds that swirled around Atlantis could take away her troubles with as much ease as they carried the air. And she sighed, wishing it was that easy to put everything out of her mind. The view was astounding, breathtaking as usual but she couldn't forget what had happened lately.

Her hands grasped the apple as she leant on the railings. Turning it over and over she found no flaws. It seemed typical he'd give her something that was as perfect as he tried to be. She wasn't sure what the occasion was, being alive perhaps but she'd accepted it never the less, not wanting to appear ungrateful.

It reminded her of a distant memory; the orchard. It was the kind of memory where you couldn't be sure if it was real or had just been so young that it seemed out of pace in your mind; blurry and seeming surreal. Whichever it was holding the apple she could recall long ago, a summers day in amongst those trees. The leaves rustling as the branches swayed gently, hiding in them, face poking out – pretending no one could see her. She'd played there, carefree, so easy to just be.

Those days were so very long ago though, if they had ever even been real and the feeling was missing as she stood on her balcony.

For a while this had been her refuge but it wasn't safe anymore. Looking out she could picture the fireworks of the battle, an overlay of darkness on the sky like she felt in her heart.

The doors opened and someone joined her out there. There were very few people it could be. Half her mind still made the guess it could be Peter, with some news of work but from now on it would never be.

She carried on looking out over the city, not bothering to turn to see who it was. Rodney never ventured into this territory uninvited and the only other person she hoped it might be was John.

"Having fun?" she asked nonchalantly as he settled beside her.

She waited, asking herself that, before answering honestly.

"Not really."

He didn't question why and they shared a silence until he noticed what she held.

"Where'd you get an apple from? The Daedalus didn't bring any did they? I didn't see any in the mess hall."

"Not officially."

"So...?" he prompted

Strangely he looked anxious for an answer.

"It was a present, from Rodney."

"Ah," he rested back onto the railings, "What'd he want this time?"

"Nothing." she replied curtly.

"...so far." he added, with a knowing smirk following his words.

She went for mockingly reprimanding him,"Ye of little faith."

"Come on," he countered, "McKay doesn't do anything without a reason."

"Maybe he was trying to be nice."

"McKay? Nice? Doesn't fit. He's a lot of things but no one around here has ever accused him of being ...nice. Besides, it's so cliched. Stinks of teachers pet if you ask me." said John as he moved about, sliding closer to her.

"I didn't though, did I, Major?"she said, teasing him slightly.

After an awkward moment he said something that caught her off guard.

"I need you..."

"Pardon?" she queried.

"I...McKay wasn't the only one with that idea; I have a surprise for you. Meet me in the jumper bay."

She stood waiting for a further persuasion but it never came. He slipped away without a further word, leaving her curious.

That was why she obliged, arriving as requested in the jumper bay not too long after, to find him already sitting in jumper 1.

"What's all this about?" she asked, eying up the supply boxes stored in the back.

He tried to look innocent, "Nothing, just thought you could use a break." At which the back hatch sealed off and she found herself trapped.

"Plenty of room up here at the front." he said as he gestured to the co-pilot's seat.

"you're not going to take no for an answer are you?"

"Nope, got Carson's backing on this one. Doctor's orders overrule yours I'm afraid."

"So you should be."

"You'll thank me later."

He flashed a cheeky grin at her before getting on with setting off to the mainland.

She watched John heap off several of the crates to the Athosians, each time he came back for another she noticed a pattern; one disrupted. A box at the bottom, in the middle of the stack, that he hadn't yet touched. One of the Athosians had gone to take it and he'd said "No, not that one". He appeared to be saving for last.

Finally he got to it, picked it up and walked off.

He unexpectedly yelled back to her, "You coming along?"

"Where?" she called back, staying where she was outside the jumper.

"You'll see."

And so she followed him down the trail into the woods, away from the encampment.

When she did see she gaped. Suddenly she understood the worry over where the apple had come from. Because here they stood at the entrance of an orchard.

"How?" she asked, walking out into the centre of the first row.

The trees were small but starting to bear fruits, though nothing quite as large as an average Earth apple.

"No clue. Alien apples. The Athosians planted them a few months ago apparently."

Turning back she saw John had opened the box and was struggling to lay down a sheet. She came across to help him, taking two corners and throwing it up before laying it down and straightening it.

She sat down on the makeshift blanket and watched him kneeling down emptying the remaining contents of the 'basket'.

"A picnic?"

He glanced up, "Yeah, bit cliché too but I figured it would be better than joining Halling for midday tea."

"I quite like tea." she answered lightly.

"You haven't had Athosian tea, have you?"he said, getting out two plates as he did and plunking them down rather nervously as the thought seemed to stick in his head.

She added that tea to her list of things to avoid. Several times she'd be invited to the mainland but, and obviously luckily, duties has always called whenever the alloted time came about.

She watched him laying out everything, the finest foods they'd had left along with a few new additions he must have acquired from their new friends.

"This is all very nice, John. Thank you for doing this."

"Well it's not over yet, we've barely got started and..." he paused there for a second, "...nice?" he asked incredulously,"Nice isn't what I had in mind."

"Yes - nice. Don't underestimate that. After everything lately nice is more than enough to satisfy me."

Excitement wasn't all it was cracked up to be. They'd lived through a war and she appreciated peace a whole lot more in these brief moments they managed to catch it. Nice was good. Nice was simple; peaceful.

"Fair enough." he replied,concentrating on finishing up the setup of the food. When he was done he got up, dust himself off a little and then walking off suddenly. Unable to see what he was doing she craned her neck.

"Ponsata?" he said, picking one out of a nearby tree, then walking back and sitting down next to her.

He held it out and she studied his face, open and honest as usual. He was trying his hardest to get her to relax and she knew she needed to, so she accepted, grasping the fruit and smiling back at him.

She took a bite and gazed out into the orchard, taking in the sight of row upon row of the fledgling trees.

In the background she could hear foreign insects buzz around, sounds off ever so from how she expected, but it still seemed like the picture in her mind of her place; one no one could take away from her, not even the wraith - and John had given it to her, a dream or a lost memory, made real. For a short time maybe she could recapture the feeling from back then and just be, be grateful to be alive and to live right here and now.


End file.
